Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine

Rodentia order is the largest order of mammals. Among the rodents, the largest living rodent is the capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) and may have a body weight of even 50 kg.

Insectivora has 8 families, 70 genera and approximately 400 species of small mammals. The distribution of these insectivores including location and specialities is a wide one in general.

Chiroptera and Dermoptera having species that are related to flying and gliding type animals.. Chiroptera order has about 951 species of bats.

Lagomorpha group comprises small to moderate sized animals like rabbit, hare and pikas. Long soft fur, long ears, short tails, fully furred feet, slit like nostrils are the characteristic features in these species.

Elephantidae (Elephants) family have two genera- Proboscidae and elephants. Elephants are African elephant (Loxodonta Africana) and Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus) seen as wild animals.

Apes, Lorises, Macaques and Langurs seems to belong from same class. Both in apes and monkeys, the cerebral hemisphere is well developed.

The taxonomy of wild mammals consists of many orders and families. The binomial nomenclature of the Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus is followed in the animal kingdom.

In this regard, it is to be noted that planning and management of various wildlife sanctuaries and national parks together with other conservation units get affected by various developmental activities like building of roads, dams, transportation of minerals or mining related works, transportation of natural gas or oil and other exploitation related measures made for various purposes.

Development of Ecosystem for Wild Animals is a process of developing the conservation of natural resources that are sustainable by associating local persons in the development and implementation of rural development programmes.

Conservation of Wild Life is the management of human use of biosphere with an ultimate aim of yielding the greatest sustainable benefits to the present generation, while maintaining the potential to encounter the requirements and expectations of the future generation.